


keep going. stop. start over.

by Teaotter



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Authority Figures, Community: kink_bingo, Consent Play, Double Penetration, Drunk Sex, F/M, Held Down, M/M, Multi, Pining, Situational Humiliation, Threesome - F/M/M, Too many feels, Verbal Humiliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-07
Updated: 2013-01-07
Packaged: 2017-11-24 00:47:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/628379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teaotter/pseuds/Teaotter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lee is studying Karl’s face when Kara suddenly throws her cards down on the table and orders the last few stragglers out of the room. She stands with a kind of drunken belligerence that somehow still makes the last pair leave, laughing and grumbling good-naturedly as she locks the door behind them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	keep going. stop. start over.

Lee's head is spinning. He wants to blame it on the ambrosia, or whatever Kara is calling the noxious brew she's been pouring for the last few rounds. It burns going down, and Lee knows in the pit of his stomach that it will burn more tomorrow when the hangover hits. For tonight, though, he's just going with it, warm and easy, and letting his doubts drown in a haze of liquor.

That isn't why the room is spinning.

Kara came back from her gods-damned suicide mission to Caprica. She came back with the Arrow of Apollo (and oh, how her eyebrows told him there were a million filthy jokes in that name, and Lee couldn't decide if he desperately wanted to hear her say them or if he wanted to run far away in shame). And she came back with Karl Agathon, _Helo_ , someone Kara introduced as "an old friend."

Starbuck doesn't have friends. As far as Lee can see, she has rivals, enemies, her squad, and the Old Man, in that order. Lee has seen enough of Starbuck to know he doesn't know her at all. She's nothing like the Kara he knew. Thought he knew, at least, and how much of that was wishful thinking on his part? All these months on Galactica, and he feels sometimes like Kara is farther away than ever.

And then here she is again, suddenly, brilliant and loyal and somehow vulnerable in a way he hasn't seen her since the first attack. She hasn't shown a single doubt about Karl's loyalties, even knowing he keeps visiting the Cylon in the brig that looks like Sharon. Lee keeps wondering what it takes to win her trust like that. Zak had it. Lee doesn't, but he hadn't minded, because no one else on Galactica has it, either. Except Karl, now, and suddenly it burns like the ambrosia.

So Lee has been watching the two of them all night. Kara is wild, flying high on glittering emotions that swing from joy to rage at the turn of a card. Karl is unflappable, even when Kara teases him cruelly, and it makes Lee reach for his glass every time. He can't remember a time when Kara's moods couldn't spin his head around.

They have been playing cards all night, Lee's head too far out of the game to do more than lose slowly as the night wears on. The rec room gradually empties, the noise level dropping as the pilots wander back to their bunks. For once, Kara seems determined to be the last one at the table instead of fleeing the room while there’s still an audience to watch her go.

Eventually, the game is down to the three of them, which is too small a group to really play. Not that Lee could read Karl’s bluffs before the ambrosia, anyway. But there's hardly a point in continuing now.

Lee is studying Karl’s face when Kara suddenly throws her cards down on the table and orders the last few stragglers out of the room. She stands with a kind of drunken belligerence that somehow still makes the last pair leave, laughing and grumbling good-naturedly as she locks the door behind them. It’s the first time all night that Lee has caught Karl looking at him, and Lee has a sudden feeling that some kind of question is being asked.

Lee doesn’t know what answer is on his face, but Karl eventually nods and deals him in on another hand Lee doesn't want to play. He should leave, now, before he finds himself knee-deep in whatever Kara has planned. 

But the cup in his hand is empty again, and he’s picking up his cards from the table without even looking at them. He doesn’t really want to leave. He can admit that to himself. He’s not so drunk he can’t find the door, if that’s what he wants. But he’s still here, drunk and vaguely embarrassed, and wishing really hard that he knew why Kara didn’t just kick him out with the other pilots, for all that she’s hardly looked at him all night.

She doesn't really look at him now, either, even though he's still sitting at the table when she stalks back to it. Kara just grins wickedly in his general direction before she launches herself across the table at Karl. Lee manages to keep the table from tipping over at Karl’s protesting “Hey!” but he can't save the cards, which scatter across the floor. 

Kara manages to tip Karl over in his chair, and they both end up on the floor. Karl gets a hand on her shoulder and flips them, but she twists away from his hold and gets his wrists. They'd both stripped down to their undershirts for the game, and now the muscles stood out on their bare arms as they wrestled for control. They tumbled over again, Kara’s smooth pale skin flashing in the light, then Karl’s darker. Matching snarling grins.

Lee would say or do something, if he thought they were seriously fighting. But they're both laughing as much as anything else, as first one, and then the other gets the upper hand for a moment. The two of them are wrestling on the ratty floor, gripping and swearing as they bump into the rec room furniture. And then Kara swoops in to kiss Karl, still fighting, and the whole thing takes on an entirely different meaning. Lee's heart seizes in his chest, jealousy and embarrassment burning through him.

Lee is staring at both of them. Kara catches his eye and grins. “Are you just gonna sit there, Captain?” Her moment of inattention lets Karl wrap a leg around hers and spin them over. “Oh, you frakking bastard!”

Karl chuckles, voice low and deep with triumph. He is half-sitting over her, both her legs pinned under his, one hand pinned by the wrist next to her side. "You gotta keep your eyes on the prize, Lieutenant," he gloats.

"Are you the prize, Lieutenant?" Kara's voice is irrepressibly sly, and Lee finds himself bracing for whatever she does next. Her body goes soft and pliant, almost seductive, as her free hand slides up to the crotch of Karl's pants. "Is this for me?"

Lee's eyes flick away, but not before he sees the muscles on her forearm stand out as she squeezes. Karl groans loudly.

"Only if you're good." Karl has let her other wrist free, but he hasn't moved to unpin her legs.

Lee glances back at them, surprised by the humor in the other man's voice. They seem to have forgotten he's even here.

Kara doesn't even pout at him. "Oh, I can be good," she says instead, and starts to open Karl's pants one-handed. She doesn't let go with the other.

Lee shifts in his seat. He's not hard; with the amount of alcohol in his system, he's not sure he could get there. But he would be, right now, if his body were able, and the beginnings of arousal are flickering through him. He doesn't need to watch Kara with someone else. He doesn't need to do this to himself. This is definitely his cue to leave --

Karl is laughing a little breathlessly. "I'm not sure you know how." A tremor runs through him. "Not that I’m complaining."

"Oh, go ahead and complain," she tosses back, as Lee finally makes it to his feet. "It won't matter."

Lee is struggling to find something light enough to say for an exit line, something that will let him keep at least a little bit of his pride intact. He doesn't want to just slink out like a forgotten dog.

"Do you hear that, Captain?" Karl has turned his head to stare directly at Lee. Kara bucks underneath him, but he shifts his weight easily and doesn't break his gaze. Lee is frozen, one hand still on the back of his chair. Karl doesn't look angry, or embarrassed. There's that same look again, like he's asking Lee a question, and Lee still doesn't know the answer. "I believe this one's unrepentant."

Kara has her face turned away from him, her body tense and frozen. Lee has no idea if she's embarrassed or impatient of if she honestly forgot he was there. There's only Karl's eyes to go on, his invitation to join in the game. Lee has the sense that he could turn and leave and Karl would just let him go. No more questions, no recriminations. That's exactly what he intends to do, but he finds himself answering, in a bantering tone he didn't know he could manage under these circumstances. "Practically insubordinate, Lieutenant."

Kara twists around to look at him, surprise written briefly across her face, before it's buried in a smirk.

Karl grinds his knee into her thigh without looking down and grins over at Lee. "You're right. We can't have that, can we?"

"Frakkers!" Kara snarls at the both of them, but she's laughing underneath it. A flush is blooming red across her collarbones, but it can't be shame. Not with Kara. She catches Lee's eyes in a blatant dare, ignoring the fact that she's pinned helpless to the floor. And that's it, that's what he was waiting for. 

Lee stands taller, hiding the urge to list to the side as best he can, and looms over them both. He plants his boots on either side of her head and tries his best glare directly down into her eyes. "No, we can't have that. Show a little respect, soldier." 

Her eyes go wide, the pupil almost swallowing the color. She sneers up at him, but there is something else moving around underneath it. "I don't have to jump when you say so. I don't have to lick your boots. Captain."

Karl shifts suddenly and twists her left arm into a thumb lock. Kara grunts in startled pain. "You do if he says you do."

She laughs at him mockingly, but Lee can hear the hint of uncertainty threading through her voice. "You want me to lick his boots?"

"Captain?" Karl looks up at him. There is still laughter in his eyes, but his expression is serious. Though not as serious as his voice was. Lee can't help glancing down the line of Karl's body; the other man is still hard, the bulge obvious through the open zipper of his pants. 

It's a game, a tiny facade of the power that Lee doesn't actually have here. Not with them. A tiny voice of sanity in the back of Lee's head is screaming at him to back down, back away before he gets in over his head. The rest of him... The rest of him wants to play.

"Do it." Lee is still looking at Karl, who nods, the movement only barely there. But it lets Lee look back down at Kara. He is half expecting her to call his bluff, say something crushing and maybe even push Karl off. Instead, there is consternation all over her face, and something more like hesitation than he has ever seen on her before. 

It's beautiful. Lee can't stand to just wait for her to make up her mind. He nudges her cheek with the toe of his boot, just to piss her off enough to stop this. "Show some respect," he says, his tone as nasty as the worst of his drill instructors, taunting him about his father's rank.

Kara turns her head slowly, staring at him the whole time. Lee keeps expecting her to fight, or possibly just spit in his direction. He braces for it when her eyes slowly slip closed. He is shocked when she puts out her tongue and, just as slowly, touches the top of his boot. The faint pressure he feels is nothing to the heat that shoots through him.

Lee can't breathe. It's as if the room freezes for a moment, as if time comes to a halt. He watches as a softness steals across her face, and she licks his boot again, and a third time, each one just as slow as the first. Her eyes open suddenly, and she is looking straight into him. There is nothing in her face that he recognizes. Not from Starbuck, and not from the girl he knew before.

Lee takes a shaky breath. "Kara." Her name comes out as a whisper; she doesn't seem to hear him at all.

"That's better." Karl's words jolt them both. His voice is still harsh. "But it doesn't make up for your earlier behavior."

"It doesn't?" Kara sounds honestly confused for a moment, and then the softness is gone from her face, and she sneers at them both. "It should. His boots taste like drek." She turns her head to the other side and spits onto the floor.

Lee laughs, half-startled that she bothered to turn her head. He crouches down over her, petting her mouth wonderingly. Kara narrows her eyes and licks his fingertips, then tilts her head forward and swallows them down. Lee groans at the heat, a million times better than any of his fantasies about Kara and sex. 

"She's good at that."

It’s the first time Karl has acknowledged that he and Kara have done this before, and even though Lee knew it, it still makes jealousy jump through him. He's always known that she sleeps around; it isn't news. Lee has imaged her a million times—with Zak, with the other pilots on Galactica, with random men at the bar. This is like a scene from one of those fantasies, only here, and real. When he turns to look, Karl has moved between her legs to grind himself against Kara, his pants hanging off his hips, muscles bunching and flexing. She wraps her legs around him, urging him on. Her body moves in a sinuous wave, somewhere between the mocking sensuality Lee is used to seeing from her, and that wicked submissiveness. Her eyes are closed, hands lax at her sides, as if they could do anything to her.

They're beautiful, both of them, and close enough that Lee can smell the sweat coming off Karl's skin. The other man's medallions chime in a rhythm familiar from nights in the pilots' rack, unmuffled by the privacy curtains. And so very close. Lee is still not sure about touching Kara, but Karl --

" _Frak_." Something surges inside Lee, and the heat of Kara's mouth around his fingers isn't enough. He grabs the back of Karl's neck with his free hand and kisses him. The other man makes a soft sound of surprise, but he moves into the kiss, hips still thrusting in the rhythm he'd set. Then a hard hand is in Lee's hair, and Karl is pulling him in, sucking his tongue in short hard pulses that light sparks behind Lee's eyes. He wonders when he closed them.

He pulls back for air and opens his eyes again. His face is inches from Karl's, and for once, the man's expression is easy to read: Lust, and a kind of happiness that maybe doesn't belong anywhere within a parsec of this room. 

He feels a sudden sharp bite to his fingers and looks down. Kara is grinning up at him, the familiar shape of her mouth pulled out of true by his fingers. She pushes his fingers with her tongue as she lets up on the bite, and Lee lets them slide from her lips.

"Clothes," Kara says, voice rough and low. "Off." 

"That's almost an order, soldier," Karl says breathlessly.

Kara rolls her eyes, the gesture so familiar that it makes something ease in Lee's chest. "Fine." She looks back at Lee, and her tone turns sing-song and mocking. "I think we should take our clothes off. Sir."

It makes Lee laugh, just like it's supposed to. "I don't like your tone, soldier."

"Lee ---" Kara draws his name out, a wheedling protest with an edge of laughter underneath.

Lee laughs again and glances at Karl, whose smile widens into a grin as Lee catches his eyes. "I think we should take _her_ clothes off."

"Yes, sir!"

Kara laughs at them both, then starts to curse them soundly as Karl pins her more firmly before Lee starts to pull her undershirts off over her head. It's lighter than Lee had ever imagined it could be with Kara, friendly in a way her aggressive sexuality never suggested. It's a relief to be past the darkness in both of them.

The three of them are uncoordinated, Lee especially, and trying to wrestle Kara out of her pants while carefully twisting her arms behind her and laughing is far beyond him in this state. Kara isn't exactly fighting them, but every time Lee's grip eases, she starts to struggle until he pulls her down again. He can get this. If this is all it takes to keep it friendly, to let them do this, then Lee can play along. 

Karl laughs so hard he has to stop and catch his breath.

Kara's clothes join the cards, now strewn around the room. One of her boots is on Lee's chair, the other upended by the door. They finally manage to get her naked, her medallions dangling between her heaving breasts as she laughs. Lee is kneeling on the floor behind her, both arms wrapped around her, holding her torso tightly against him. He has her wrists in his hands, his grip hard enough that he wonders if she'll have bruises in the morning. Karl is kneeling in front of them, pressed up against her body. 

Karl's hands move unerringly to her breasts. He lifts them gently, a feather touch just barely contacting her skin. Kara tries to writhe into the touch, but Karl just moves his hands back, keeping the very lightness of the touch as a tease. Kara snarls at him.

“Bastards. Both of you.” Despite the look on her face, her tone is casual, almost conversational.

“Oh, Kara. I'm disappointed in you.” Karl sounds amused. The tone is a lot like Kara's at her worst. His hands drop away from her. Lee can feel her muscles shift against him as she tries to follow. “I'm pretty sure the only bastard in this room is you.”

Kara goes still in Lee’s arms, every muscle frozen. 

“Karl –“Lee snaps, warningly

“Relax, Lee.” Karl’s expression is calm, almost friendly. “She likes it, doesn't she? Don't you.”

“Frak you.” The words are soft, with no real fight in them.

Kara is never supposed to sound like that. Lee starts to let go. “Karl, no –“

He has barely loosened his grip on her when suddenly Kara is clutching at his arms and holding him in place. “Not now, Lee,” she hisses. “Don't go soft on me now.”

“Kara?” Lee knows he sounds confused, almost lost—clearly too much so, because her hands drop away, at the same time as the tension comes back into her body.

“Frak you.” Kara snaps her head around to glare at him over her shoulder. “I licked your frakking boot, you asshole. Grow some balls!” Her glare breaks into something meaner. “Or do I have to get your Daddy in here to do it for you?”

Lee has his hands back around her wrists before she's done talking. A red rage is sweeping through him, filling him up. He was just trying to protect her, make sure she didn't get hurt. He pulls his arms tight around her, digging his elbows into the hollows under her ribs and squeezes the breath out of her. She lets out a surprised wheezing grunt before letting her head fall slowly back on his shoulder.

Lee is expecting her to sneer, or struggle against the hold, but she just smiles at him triumphantly. She blows him a soundless kiss, lips moving breathlessly, but she doesn't struggle. She just relaxes back against him, and knowing that he fell for her trick makes him feel used. He wants to shove her face into the floor, hold her down and fuck her until she screams. Or possibly just drop her arms and walk out the door. At least that way, he can keep his pride.

“She's a foul-mouthed little cunt, isn't she?” Karl’s tone is still conversational, but his face, when Lee looks, is understanding. 

He’s offering a way through this, and Lee is filled with a sudden gratitude. At least someone knows what's going on, even if it isn’t him. He ought to be used to it by now; with Kara, he never knows what’s going on. Maybe Karl does. Maybe that’s what she means when she calls him a friend.

“Yeah. She is.” Kara is still not fighting him. Her chest rises and falls in the rapid, shallow breaths that are all she can take with him squeezing her like this. Lee has a sudden desire to cut off even that air. He fights for a moment not to squeeze harder, not to reach around her throat and choke her. People can get hurt that way, really hurt, and he knows he's too far gone to be careful. Her eyes flutter shut as he shifts. “What do you suggest we do about it?”

“Give her something else to do with that mouth of hers.” 

Karl quirks an eyebrow at him, and Lee finds himself nodding. At this point, Lee thinks he would agree to anything that didn't sound completely insane. He isn’t sure what he's expecting when he loosens his grip on Kara’s chest. She takes a sharp and shuddering breath.

Lee isn't expecting Karl’s hand suddenly in her hair, or the abrupt, almost violent way he tugs her head up. Karl’s other hand is hooked into the waistband of his underwear, tugging them down just enough for his erection to bob free.

Lee almost forgets to let go of his hold on Kara, and for a moment, Karl is pulling her against the hold Lee has on her, pushing the breath out of her lungs again. When Lee lets go, shocked, Karl doesn't pause. He doesn't give her a chance to get her breath back, either. He just pulls her down, pries her mouth open with his thumb, and shoves his way in.

A shiver runs through Kara's body like electricity. She spreads her knees a little to get a better angle, her hands going out to grab Karl's thighs. She shoves his pants down further until she can get her hands on his skin. Lee has to grab her hips to keep her from lunging away from him. She gives a serious little grind back against his crotch, but otherwise ignores him.

Somewhere in the back of Lee's head, some part of him is whimpering and hurt. She likes this. Karl said so before, and Lee hadn't really believed it. But this—this is clearly what she wants. Lee has spent all this time being a nice guy, being upright, trying to show her he wouldn't hurt her. When it's exactly what she wants. He's not sure he can deal with that.

At the same time, there is no way he is walking away from this. Kara, wild and willing and right in front of him. Karl, helping him through. Both of them so frakking beautiful it hurts.

Karl moans loudly, happily. "Oh, yeah. That's what I'm talking about." His head is thrown back, his hips snapping easily, in a short, sharp, smooth rhythm.

He pauses occasionally to let her take a breath, but not a good one.

Lee remembers what else Karl had said earlier. "She's good at that."

Karl's eyes open, only slightly unfocussed. "Oh, yeah." He pets her head lightly, fingers carding gently through her short hair. "She frakking loves it, doesn't she? I bet she's dripping."

Lee sputters a laugh at Karl's casual crudeness. But he reaches down between them to trail his fingers up the back of her thigh. She hums an encouragement when he hesitates. She spreads her legs wider, grinding her ass against his erection invitingly. Lee slowly traces his fingers higher, still waiting for her to stop him. He’s never gotten this far with her, and even with her naked and practically begging for it, it’s hard to believe he has permission.

But she doesn’t stop him, and eventually he slides his hand behind her working thighs and finds her slick, hot, smooth against his fingers. He slides his fingers around her lips, adjusting to the way she grinds. She shifts, trying to lead him further in, but Lee’s not ready for that yet. He pulls his fingers back, slick and wet. "I'd have to agree." 

Lee licks his fingers, and Karl groans. “That –“

"Yeah." Lee strokes his hand back down the line of her back, feeling the way her spine arches with Karl's thrusts. He strokes the curve of her ass and back down between her legs. He cups his hand there, enjoying the heat and the scratch of her hair, then pushes in abruptly with two fingers, hard. The slick muscle around his fingers spasms and she freezes for a moment before shuddering and moving again. Lee takes a deep breath, and tries to find the words. "Gods, she has such a nice cunt."

Kara moans. It’s cut off by Karl’s cock, and Lee has to catch his breath at the way it sounds. Karl is still moving smoothly, but his eyes are squeezed shut, and his fingers in Kara’s hair are trembling. Lee never expected to feel so aroused watching someone else have her. He never expected to be anything more than jealous, and he’s not sure he doesn’t feel that, too, somewhere under everything else. He’s not sure if he doesn't want to be Karl, someone who understands what's going on here, understands her. 

But he can’t hold the thought. The sight of them, the feel of Kara clenching and working his fingers, is too much for him.

Lee tries to catch his breath. He can feel it in his cock, finally, the drink starting to give way to everything around him. He’s still hazy, a little out of control. All he knows is that Kara is way too coordinated for him, right now. He wants her to be out of her mind, crazy the way he is. He kinda wants them all crazy, which ought to frighten him, because the gods know this should be crazy enough. But it isn’t.

"I want --" Lee is surprised he found words at all. He isn’t sure what comes after that.

Karl's eyes flash open, but it takes him a moment to focus on Lee. "Yeah?"

Karl leans over to kiss him again. Lee meets him halfway, tries to say all the crazy things running through his mind.

Karl seems to understand, or maybe he’s just good at this – Karl starts to slow it down. Lee realizes with a start that the deliberate rhythm Karl sets is the same as his thrusts, the same now as the speed Lee's pushing into Kara with his fingers. He can feel it all through them, feel it in the tension and release of Kara's flank.

Closer. He wants to be closer. Lee is glad to have something be clear, something concrete. He pulls out of the kiss.

"Not --" Lee interrupts himself, licking his lips for the taste.

Karl’s eyes drop to his mouth. "Lee?"

Lee remembers what he was saying. "Not like this --"

He waits for Karl’s nod. The other man moves to sink back on his heels, and Kara digs her hands in hard around his hips, hard enough to leave fingerprint bruises. She looks up far enough to glare at both of them.

Lee reaches down to pull her off. He has to wrap his hand in her hair and pull, sharp and rude, to get her to move. Karl moans as she lets her head tilt back, keeping her mouth on his cock as long as she can until he slips out slowly. Her lips are wide and swollen, spit striped down her chin. She wipes it with the back of one hand as she sits up. 

Kara looks at Lee, clearly pissed. "And you were doing so well --"

"Shut up." Lee is a little embarrassed at how desperate it sounds, but he means it. Don't ruin this, he means, and leans in to kiss her. She bites him hard, once, before wrapping her hands around his head and pulling him in. The taste in her mouth is musky, bitter, and not terribly different from his own.

There is a little push as Karl ruts up against them. "Not that I want to complain, here --"

Lee pulls out of the kiss, and pushes Kara into Karl's lap. "Do it. I want --" He can't find the words, so he just shakes his head. "In her."

"Hells yes," Kara says, and shifts to straddle Karl better. "About frakking time."

Karl laughs, and pulls her closer. She digs her teeth into his shoulder.

Lee crawls closer, close enough to be pressed against her back again. He can feel the motions, whip-like through her body. His hands slide down between them to feel the place they come together. They both groan as his fingers circle Karl's dick, brush up against the dampness of hair.

Kara adds a little twist to her next thrust, shifting enough to press her clit against his fingers. Lee can feel the tremor run through her.

"Oh, yeah." She makes a happy humming sound.

Lee drops his forehead against the back of her shoulder. "Is this what you wanted?"

He curls his fingers in against her, at the place they come together. He feels pressure against his fingers, so tight, but he manages to slip one finger into her beside Karl's cock. The sensations are fantastic, smooth and hot and soft texture over hard muscle. 

Karl's fingers dig into Lee's shoulder. "Lee." His voice is suddenly urgent.

Lee can barely get in to the first knuckle. The angle is bad, and it feels like he might dislocate his shoulder trying, but he doesn't care. He can really feel the two of them, the pulse of them. All of them are panting. 

He twists his hand enough to get a second finger in. Kara freezes for a moment. "Frak," she curses softly, breathed between moans. "Frak, Lee..."

Karl leans over her shoulder and kisses him. He shifts a little, and then Lee can feel another hand next to his. There's no room between them, muscle and bone, but Karl manages to twine his fingers around Lee's, and then twist in, curl up. 

Kara bucks, there is no other word for the movement she makes. Her eyes are wide and shocked. "Boys. I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way."

"You can take it." Karl catches her gaze, holds it until her head dips in a slight nod. Her eyes drop closed.

Lee can't stop thrusting, even though it's only shallowly. The pressure is easing a little as she relaxes, and Lee agrees that it doesn't work this way, or it shouldn't, but what they're doing becomes gradually less tight, less impossible.

Karl's second finger surprises him. Lee moans at the feel. It earns him a breathless little laugh from Kara, light and almost as drunk as he was earlier. 

"Does it hurt?"

"Hells, yes." Her response is happy, accompanied by the drugged, reckless grin she wears so well. "It feels absolutely fantastic. Doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it does." Lee kisses her again, more slowly. It's less an attack than an exploration, and she lets him lead for once.

There's a thrust from Karl that rocks them all. His eyes have gone black, and sweat rolls down his forehead. He looks desperate, avid, and for the first time Lee wonders exactly how dangerous Karl could be. "You wanna try more?"

Lee is nodding before he can think about it. "Sure."

Karl kisses him briefly. "Pull back a minute."

Karl shifts and shoves the both of them around. Lee is hardly paying any attention, too caught up in Kara's skin and the closeness he feels to them both. He manages to shed his own clothes in the process. They end up with Karl on his back and Kara on top of him. 

Lee moves up behind her to grab her hips as Karl pulls her down. "Try this way."

Kara leans down to kiss Karl, and Lee is briefly distracted by the sight of them. There's a flash of movement. He can see the line of Karl's arm down to where his hand disappears. From the arch of Kara's back, Karl has his fingers in her along with his cock again. Lee has to touch. 

Lee reaches between them. It's easier from this angle. He can feel the hot stretch of her, so wet, leaking. He slides in with two, which gets him a sighing moan. He can get his fingers deeper this way, and he lets himself.

Kara pushes up on her hands and looks at him over her shoulder. "Lee."

She is so beautiful, hair askew and eyes so wide and needy. "Yeah?"

"Frak me."

For a moment, Lee doesn't quite understand. "It --" 

Then she leans forward over Karl, spreading her legs and he can see them, see the place where they're joined together. See his own fingers disappearing into her. "Just try."

Lee presses close, shifting limbs around until he can press his cock against her, them, but he can't get his hand there. He lets Karl's hand guide him in. It is impossible, so tight, and feels hotter than a desert day. He can feel Karl's cock pressed up against his.

Lee groans, then laughs, then groans again at the way the laughter vibrates through him. "Gods."

"Yeah. That's --"

"Mmm. One of you boys could move, now."

It feels delicate, precarious, this position that he finds himself in. At the same time, it feels powerful. Certainly strong enough to break him. The heat and the pressure are awesome, almost overwhelming. But so is the urge to move.

He takes her hips in his hands and shifts. Just a tiny movement, but it feels like a mile. The sensations explode behind his eyes and leave him panting. From the others’ matching groans, they find the movement as earthshaking.

Lee catches his breath. Kara is trembling, a fine tension he can’t determine if it's pain or simply fighting the need to move. So he rocks forward again, bracing himself for the slick pleasure of it.

Kara grunts softly, and plants her hands more firmly on the floor. "Do that again."

Lee doesn't care that she's giving orders again. His body is moving before he can think about it, a slow, gentle rocking that feels like something that could get out of hand quickly. The only good thing about his condition is that he won’t come easily. Orgasm still seems like something miles away. But he feels like he could easily lose himself in the sensation.

Karl's hand clenches on Lee's thigh. Lee can see the white half-moons where Kara has her nails dug into Karl's shoulder.

Lee fights to keep his movements small and even, even as Kara starts to tremble and shift underneath him. Karl is moaning now, too, hitching up his hips in tiny abortive thrusts that nevertheless leave them all breathless with the sensation. Kara collapses on top of Karl, slowly, melting.

Something gives way, and suddenly the pressure around his cock eases enough to let him give one longer thrust. Lee groans at the feel, sliding in and out.

“Frak.” Karl’s voice is scratchy, almost desperate, every muscle tight. He reaches down between them to where Kara is softly grinding against them both, her moans an almost constant crooning that changes to a growl when his hand finds her.

Lee can feel her clench around them both, and then Karl is shaking, thrusting up a few times. Lee rides it out, sudden heat and wetness telling him that the other man has just come. It's beautiful and intimate and it almost drags Lee over the edge with him.

But Kara’s still shaking, grinding a little harder now, and Karl is still working his arm. Lee thrusts once, hard, and Karl freezes even as Kara grunts and pushes back against him just as hard. Lee knows Karl has to be oversensitive now, and he'd like to give the other man a chance to pull out. But Kara keeps moving, and Lee can't stop himself. He pulls her head back onto his shoulder and kisses her as she starts to moan.

Lee reaches down to touch her clit, and finds Karl's hand already there. Lee strokes the other man's wrist and forearm instead, needing to touch someone as he feels his orgasm slowly building.

Then Kara is crying out, shaking in his arms, and it's too much. Lee never thought – she isn't – his thoughts scatter and burn as the blinding pleasure sweeps through him. 

Lee is still wallowing in the afterglow when Kara wriggles out from between them. He doesn't try to hold onto her, isn't coordinated enough to try. By the time he realizes she's actually leaving, it's too late to grab her.

"Hey."

She flicks a grin at him as she shimmies into her pants, her underwear shoved carelessly into a pocket. She has her shirts on before Lee could even remember where they were. He's never seen anyone get dressed so fast. "That was fun. Don't expect it to happen again."

Her words are puzzling; Lee hasn't thought that far yet, but if he had — no, he wouldn't expect this to happen again. "Okay."

Karl laughs from his spot on the floor. He makes no move to get up. "Don't mind me."

"Asshole." It's said fondly, even as she nudges his ribs with her boot and leaves.

Lee is still lying there, stark naked, when Karl finally sits up. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay."

Karl nods, but he goes on as if Lee hadn't answered. "Because we kind of threw you in the deep end there. If you need to talk about it --"

Lee snorts. Sometimes, it seems like all he ever does is talk about Kara. "I'm fine." He's not fine, not entirely, but he's not sure exactly what he isn't fine with. It all happened so fast, and now it's over, and maybe the problem is that Lee doesn't even know what “it” is at all.

“You don't look fine.”

“Frak you,” Lee says, but it doesn't have the heat he thinks it should. He sounds tired.

“Any time, Captain.” Karl's answer comes with a leer that's too friendly for Lee to hold onto his anger.

Lee sits up himself and reaches for his shirts. “I just want her to look at me. To see me. Do you know what I mean?”

“She has that effect on people.” Karl's leer fades into something more somber. “Look, you want my advice?”

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

“Figure out why you want that.” Karl's voice is muffled for a moment as he pulls his undershirts over his head and starts lacing up his boots. “It's obvious that Kara doesn't want to see anyone. She definitely doesn't want to be seen. So why do you want something she doesn't want to give you?”

Karl's tone is neutral, but Lee can't help feeling it as a slap in the face. “It's not like that.”

“It's okay. I've seen it before.” Karl glances up at Lee, his face still carefully neutral. “Men who think they know what's best for her. Who just want to make her happy.”

Lee's face burns. “And what's wrong with that?”

“Nothing.” Karl abruptly levers himself to his feet and starts straightening the worst of the wreckage in the room. He rights a chair and pushes it neatly under the nearest table, more anger in his movements than Lee can hear in his voice. “Except for the part where you think you're what she needs to be happy.”

Lee holds his ground in the middle of the room and lets Karl move around him. “I'm pretty sure she doesn't need me.”

“Kara doesn't need anyone,” Karl says, still so frakking evenly, before dropping into a chair and letting out a long sigh. “Except when she does. And I'm not making any sense at all, am I?”

Lee shakes his head. “How would I know?”

“Frak,” Karl says softly. He scrubs a hand across his face, suddenly looking as tired as Lee feels. “I'm drunk.”

And suddenly Lee is tired of sitting here on the floor feeling sorry for himself. Wanting things to change doesn't make them change, and he knows that. Kara left like the room was on fire; fine. Nothing Lee has done has ever made her want to stay.

But he's not the only one left behind this time.

“Come on.” Lee manages to get his feet under himself, though the rooms spins for a moment as he crosses to Karl's chair. Lee isn't sure if it's the last of the ambrosia or the exhaustion. “My rack's wide enough for two, if you're friendly.”

“Friendly?” Karl blinks up at him, then takes the hand Lee offers. “I can do friendly.”

“Good.” Lee tries for a leer, and gives it up when Karl just laughs at him. It feels better, though, to be leaving together. “Friendly's good.”

**Author's Note:**

> No, I don't know where I was going with that ending, either. Sorry. This feels like something that ought to be part of something larger, but it's been sitting in my WIP folder long enough as it is.


End file.
